Method and apparatus for speech synthesizing

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 wherein said signals are essentially periodic and wherein said preselected portions lie in the range from about 1/4 to about 3/4 of the period.

Claim 4

The method of claim 2 wherein said signals are speech signals and wherein said period comprises the pitch period of said speech signals.

Claim 5

The method of claim 2 wherein said preselected portion is substantially 1/2.

Claim 6

The method of claim 1 further including the step of time quantizing said signals before said step (a) of deleting.

Claim 7

The method of claim 1 further including the step of time quantizing said signals after said step (a) of deleting.

Claim 8

The method of claim 1 further including the step of time differentiating said signals prior to said step (a) of deleting.

Claim 9

The method of claim 1 further including the step of time differentiating said signals after said step (a) of deleting.

Claim 10

The method of claim 1 wherein said step (a) of deleting includes the step of selecting signals representative of particular phonemes and phoneme groups for deletion, said preselected portions corresponding to parts or all of the pitch periods of said particular phonemes and phoneme groups, and wherein said step (b) of generating includes the step of generating additional instruction signals identifying the phonemes and phoneme groups so selected.

Claim 11

The method of claim 1 wherein said information bearing signals are audio signals having phonemes and phoneme groups and wherein said step (a) of deleting includes the step of deleting preselected signals representative of portions of particular phonemes and phoneme groups from said audio signals, said preselected signals corresponding to those portions lying between every nth pitch period of said particular phonemes and phoneme groups; and wherein said step (b) of generating includes the step of generating additional instruction signals specifying said particular phonemes and phoneme groups and identifying the corresponding values of n.

Claim 12

The method of claim 1 wherein said step (a) of deleting includes the step of separating said signals into at least two parts and deleting parts occurring later in time which are substantially identical to parts occurring earlier in time; and wherein said step (b) of generating includes the step of generating further instruction signals specifying those parts so deleted.

Claim 13

The method of claim 1 further including the step of delta-modulating the signals resulting from said step (a) of deleting.

Claim 14

The method of claim 1 further including the step (c) of storing in a memory device said signals resulting from said step (b) and said instruction signals.

Claim 15

The method of claim 13 wherein said step (c) of storing is preceded by the step of converting to digital signals said signals resulting from said step (a) of deleting.

Claim 16

The method of claim 13 wherein said information bearing signals are speech signals and wherein said step (c) of storing includes the step of storing portions of said signals corresponding to selected phonemes and phoneme groups according to their ability to blend naturally with any other phenome.

Claim 19

The method of claim 16 wherein said compressed signals are stored in a memory device and wherein said step (a) of reproducing includes the step of reading said signals from said memory device.

Claim 20

The method of claim 17 wherein said compressed signals are stored in said memory device in digital form and wherein said step (a) of reproducing includes the step of converting said digital signals to analog signals.

Claim 21

The method of claim 16 wherein said compressed information signals are delta-modulated signals and wherein said step (a) of reproducing includes the step of delta-modulation decoding said compressed information signals.

Claim 22

The method of claim 16 wherin said compressed information signals represent audio signals having predetermined essentially periodic portions and said portions where deletion has occurred are specified by said instruction signals as lying in the range from about 1/4 to about 3/4 of each of the essentially periodic portions, and wherein said step (b) of inserting is performed during fractional portions of each of said periodic portions lying in said range as specified by said instruction signals.

Claim 23

The method of claim 20 wherein said audio signals are speech signals and said essentially periodic portions correspond to the pitch periods of said speech signals.

Claim 24

The method of claim 20 wherein said portions where deletion has occurred comprise 1/2 of each of said essentially periodic portions, and wherein said step (b) of inserting is performed during 1/2 of each of said essentially periodic portions.

Claim 25

The method of claim 16 wherein said original signals are audio signals having phonemes and phoneme groups and wherein said compressed information signals are of a type previously compressed by the additional technique of deleting preselected signals representative of portions of particular phonemes and phoneme groups, said preselected signals corresponding to those portions lying between every nth pitch period of said particular phonemes and phoneme groups, said instruction signals further identifying said particular phoneme and phoneme groups and the corresponding values of n, and wherein said step (a) of reproducing includes the step of sequentially repeating each non-deleted signal representative of said particular phonemes and phoneme groups a number of times equal to the corresponding value of n specified by the identifying instruction signal.

Claim 26

The method of claim 16 wherein said information signals are of a type previously compressed by the additional technique of separating said original audio signals into at least two parts and deleting parts occurring later in time which are substantially identical to parts occurring earlier in time, said instruction signals specifying those parts so deleted, and wherein said step (a) of reproducing includes the step of repeating the non-deleted parts specified by said instruction signals.

Claim 29

The combination of claim 25 wherein said input signals are essentially periodic and wherein said preselected portions lie in the range from about 1/2 to about 3/4 of the period.

Claim 30

The combination of claim 26 wherein said preselected portion is substantially 1/2.

Claim 31

The combination of claim 26 wherein said input signals are speech signals and wherein said period comprises the pitch period of said speech signals.

Claim 32

The combination of claim 25 further including means coupled to said input means for time quantizing said input signals.

Claim 33

The combination of claim 25 further including means coupled to said deleting means for time quantizing the signals output therefrom.

Claim 34

The combination of claim 25 further including means coupled to said input means for time differentiating said signals.

Claim 35

The combination of claim 25 further including means coupled to said deleting means for time differentiating said signals output therefrom.

Claim 36

The combination of claim 25 wherein said input signals are audio signals having phonemes and phoneme groups and wherein said deleting means includes means for deleting preselected signals representative of portions of particular phonemes and phoneme groups from said audio signals, said preselected signals corresponding to parts of the pitch periods of said particular phonemes and phoneme groups, and wherein said means for generating includes means for generating additional instruction signals identifying the phonemes and phoneme groups so selected.

Claim 37

The combination of claim 25 wherein said input signals are audio signals having phonemes and phoneme groups and wherein said means for deleting includes means for deleting preselected signals representative of portions of particular phonemes and phoneme groups from said audio signals, said preselected signals corresponding to those portions lying between every nth pitch period of said particular phonemes and phoneme groups, and wherein said means for generating includes means for generating additional instruction signals specifying said particular phonemes and phoneme groups and identifying the corresponding values of n.

Claim 38

The combination of claim 25 wherein said means for deleting includes means for deleting parts of said input signals occurring later in time which are substantially identical to parts occurring earlier in time, and wherein said generating means includes means for generating further instruction signals specifying those parts so deleted.

Claim 39

The combination of claim 25 further including means coupled to said deleting means for delta-modulating the signals output therefrom.

Claim 40

The combination of claim 25 further including means coupled to said deleting means and said generating means for storing the signals output therefrom.

Claim 41

The combination of claim 37 further including means coupled to said deleting means and said generating means for converting the signals output therefrom to digital form.

Claim 42

The combination of claim 37 wherein said input signals are speech signals and wherein said storing means includes means for storing portions of said signals output from said deleting means corresponding to selected phonemes and phoneme groups according to their ability to blend naturally with any other phoneme.

Claim 45

The combination of claim 40 further including memory means for storing said compressed signals and wherein said means for reproducing includes means for reading said signals from said memory means.

Claim 46

The combination of claim 41 wherein said memory means comprises a digital memory device for storing said compressed signals in digital form, and wherein said reproducing means includes means for converting said compressed signals from said digital form to analog signals.

Claim 47

The combination of claim 40 wherein said compressed information signals are delta-modulated signals, and wherein said reproducing means includes means for delta-modulation decoding said compressed information signals.

Claim 48

The combination of claim 40 wherein said compressed information signals represent audio signals having predetermined essentially periodic portions and said portions where deletion has occurred are specified by said instruction signals as lying in the range from about 1/4 to about 3/4 of each of the essentially periodic portions, and wherein said inserting means includes means for inserting said constant amplitude signals during fractional portions of each of said periodic portions lying in said range as specified by said instruction signals.

Claim 49

The combination of claim 44 wherein said audio signals are speech signals and said essentially periodic portions correspond to the pitch periods of said speech signals.

Claim 50

The combination of claim 44 wherein said portions where deletion has occurred comprise 1/2 of each of said essentially periodic portions, and wherein said inserting means includes means for inserting said constant amplitude signals during 1/2 of each of said essentially periodic portions.

Claim 51

The combination of claim 40 wherein said information signals are of a type previously compressed by the additional technique of deleting selected portions of said original audio signals corresponding to particular phonemes and phoneme groups, said selected portions lying between every nth pitch period of the corresponding phoneme and phoneme group, said instruction signals further identifying the particular phonemes and phoneme groups and the corresponding values of n, and wherein said reproducing means includes means for sequentially repeating each of said selected portions of said compressed information signals corresponding to said particular phonemes and phoneme groups a number of times equal to the corresponding value of n specified by the identifying instruction signal.

Claim 52

The combination of claim 40 wherein said information signals are of a type previously compressed by the additional technique of separating said original audio signals into at least two parts and deleting parts occurring later in time which are substantially identical to parts occurring earlier in time, said instruction signals specifying those parts so deleted, and wherein said reproducing means includes means for repeating the non-deleted parts specified by said instruction signals.

Claim 55

The method of claim 49 wherein said information bearing signals are essentially periodic and wherein said preselected relatively low-power portions lie in the range from about 1/4 to about 182 of the period.

Claim 56

The method of claim 50 wherein said information bearing signals are speech signals and wherein said period comprises the pitch period of said speech signals.

Claim 57

The method of claim 50 wherein said preselected portion is substantially 1/2.

Claim 58

The method of claim 49 further including the step of storing in a memory device the signals resulting from said steps of (a) X period zeroing, and (b) generating.

Claim 59

The method of claim 53 wherein said step of storing is preceded by the step of converting said signals resulting from said steps of (a) X period zeroing, and (b) generating to digital signals.

Claim 60

The method of claim 49 wherein said information bearing signals comprise audio-electrical signals.

Claim 61

The method of claim 49 wherein said signals resulting from said steps of (a) X period zeroing, and (b) generating are stored in a memory device, and wherein said step (c) of reproducing includes the step of reading said stored signals from said memory device.

Claim 62

The method of claim 56 wherein said stored signals are stored in said memory device in digital form, and wherein said step (c) of reproducing includes the step of converting said digital signals to analog signals.

Claim 63

The method of claim 49 wherein said signals resulting from said steps of (a) X period zeroing, and (b) generating are delta-modulated signals, and wherein said step (c) of reproducing includes the steps of delta-modulation decoding said resulting signals.

Claim 66

The combination of claim 59 wherein said input signals are essentially periodic and wherein said preselected portions lie in the range from about 1/4 to about 3/4 of the period.

Claim 67

The combination of claim 60 wherein said preselected portion is substantially 1/2.

Claim 68

The combination of claim 60 wherein said input signals are speech signals and wherein said period comprises the pitch period of said speech signals.

Claim 69

The combination of claim 59 further including means coupled to said deleting means for delta modulating the signals output therefrom.

Claim 70

The combination of claim 59 further including means coupled to said deleting means and said generating means for storing the signals output therefrom.

Claim 71

The combination of claim 64 further including means coupled to said deleting means and said generating means for converting the signals output therefrom to digital form.

Claim 72

The combination of claim 63 wherein said reproducing means includes means for delta-modulation decoding said compressed information signals.

Claim 73

For use with a memory element containing compressed information time domain signals produced by predetermined signal compression techniques and instruction signals specifying the particular compression techniques applied to original information bearing time domain signals to produce corresponding portions of said compressed information time domain signals, said predetermined signal compression techniques including X period zeroing of said original information bearing time domain signals by deleting preselected relatively low-power portions thereof and generating instruction signals specifying those portions of the deleted signals to be replaced by a substantially constant amplitude signal of predetermined value, a controller device for synthesizing said original information bearing time domain signals, said controller device comprising: controller storage means having an input adapted to be coupled to said memory element for sequentially receiving ordered ones of said compressed information time domain signals; means adapted to be coupled to said controller storage means for generating control signals enabling said ordered ones of said compressed information time domain signals to be coupled to said controller storage means, said control signal generating means including means for receiving corresponding ones of said instruction signals identifying the type of compression technique applied to said ordered ones of said compressed information time domain signals associated with said control signals; converter means coupled to said controller storage means for converting said ordered ones of said compressed information time domain signals to synthetic analog signals corresponding to said original information bearing time domain signals; and means responsive to receipt of an X period zero instruction signal from said memory element for causing said converter means to output a substantially constant amplitude signal having a single value lying between the maximum and minimum values of the corresponding deleted portion of the original information bearing time domain signals as a portion of the synthetic analog signal generated thereby.

Claim 74

For use with a memory element containing compressed information time domain signals produced by predetermined signal compression techniques and instruction signals specifying the particular compression techniques applied to original information bearing time domain signals to produce corresponding portions of said compressed information time domain signals, said predetermined signal compression techniques including X period zeroing of said original information bearing time domain signals by deleting preselected relatively low-power portions thereof and generating instruction signals specifying those portions of the deleted signals to be replaced by a substantially constant amplitude signal of predetermined value, a controller device for synthesizing said original information bearing time domain signals, said controller device comprising: controller storage means having an input adapted to be coupled to said memory element for sequentially receiving ordered ones of said compressed information time domain signals; means adapted to be coupled to said controller storage means for generating control signals enabling said ordered ones of said compressed information time domain signals to be coupled to said controller storage means, said control signal generating means including means for receiving corresponding ones of said instruction signals identifying the type of compression technique applied to said ordered ones of said compressed information time domain signals associated with said control signals; converter means coupled to said controller storage means for converting said ordered ones of said compressed information time domain signals to synthetic analog signals corresponding to said original information bearing time domain signals; and means responsive to receipt of an X period zero instruction signal from said memory element for causing said converter means to output a substantially constant amplitude signal having a single value lying between the maximum and minimum values of the corresponding deleted portion of the original information bearing time domain signals as a portion of the synthetic analog signal generated thereby.

Claim 75

The combination of claim 67 wherein said compressed signals and said instruction signals are digital characters, said controller storage means comprises a digital storage device, and said converter means includes digital-to-analog converter means for converting ordered ones of said compressed information time domain digital characters to said synthetic analog signals.

Claim 76

The combination of claim 67 wherein said predetermined signal compression techniques include delta modulation of said original information bearing time domain signals, and wherein said controller device further includes means coupled to said controller storage means for delta demodulating signals appearing at the output thereof, when enabled, and means coupled to said delta demodulating means and responsive to the receipt by said control means of a delta modulation instruction signal from said memory element for enabling said delta demodulating means to delta demodulate the ordered ones of said compressed information signals corresponding to said delta demodulation instruction signal.